"Conveying the zoo message” is what volunteer Sophia Ochoa does every day, according to Troy Solberg, the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo Youth Volunteer Coordinator. The message is the zoo’s mission, which is “to inspire, educate, and engage people to serve as lifelong stewards for the conservation of animals and their habitats.”
While all of Omaha has grown up experiencing the Henry Doorly Zoo, Ochoa has grown up within the zoo itself. Having been a volunteer since she was in elementary school, Ochoa has gone through each volunteer program offered to kids.
The zoo’s volunteer program has been around for over 20 years, inspiring hundreds of students annually. With volunteers as young as 4th grade, to Junior Crew middle schoolers, and the Zoo Crew high school age volunteers, who are mentors for younger children, Omaha youth can hone their skills alongside other individuals who share their passions and introduce them to new ideas.
Soon to be a junior at Duchesne Academy, Ochoa has loved the zoo ever since she can remember. As a child, she was always on the lookout for places to volunteer since she couldn’t yet work for pay. Her mom noticed on the website that the zoo offered volunteer opportunities for children, and Ochoa was sold immediately. “I decided that was something I wanted to do,” she said—and it has proven to be something she has continued to want to do every year since.
Being so involved with the organization, it’s no surprise that Ochoa is also heavily active at Duchesne. She is a three-sport varsity athlete in volleyball, basketball, and track. During the summer, she has a packed schedule of practices and workouts every morning before she volunteers with additional conditioning afterwards.
Whenever she has a free moment, Ochoa prioritizes the zoo as a pillar of her life.
A typical volunteering day for Ochoa begins around 8:30 in the morning after her workouts. After setting up in a classroom and getting the younger children ready, she spends most of her day stamping passports for the new Zooventure program, which features six engaging educational stations around the zoo as well as leading the younger volunteers through the various areas and exhibits to stop, learn, observe, and help guests along their way.
The Zoo Crew program has allowed her to grow as an individual. Starting as a shy little girl just wanting to spend her free time at her favorite place, years of volunteering have allowed her to grow her confidence in herself, her knowledge, and her abilities.
Ochoa says her favorite duty as a volunteer is working with the children in the XYZ program, which is where she got her start.
“When I was younger, I had some Zoo Crew that I really looked up to, so I kind of wanted to be that person to help bring the younger kids out of their shells,” she said.
Guiding them in classrooms and through zoo exhibits and teaching them about conservation from the educational pop-ups, Ochoa strives to make the same impression on the young members that the volunteers prior made on her.
Another impactful aspect of the Zoo Crew experience is their monthly meetings. At these events, typically led by Solberg, volunteers build career experience as well as their zoo skills. Workers from all areas of the zoo are brought in for the meetings, from keepers, to veterinarians, to security, and each worker speaks to the teens and provides insights into their individual roles. This is designed to show the young volunteers how every zoo worker strives toward the organization’s mission of conservation and education, even if it is a behind-the-scenes role. College and university recruiters are brought in to speak as well to teach teen volunteers “how you apply for college, how Zoo Crew can translate into a college application [and] scholarship applications,” according to Solberg.
For Ochoa, the time she has spent in Zoo Crew assisting guests, leading younger volunteers, interacting with animals, and educating has influenced her future career aspirations. She hopes to work either in animal medicine or further in wildlife conservation.
“You never stop learning at the zoo,” noted Solberg.
To learn more, visit omahazoo.com/volunteer.
This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
